Tree-felling and log-sawing attachment for tractors



Feb. 9, 1954 G. A. GOODLET TREE-FELLING AND LOG-SAWING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS Filed June 16, 1951 INVENTOR. fiflfierf 4. 6004/52 HTTO NEK Patented Feb. 9, 1954 UNITED STATS PATENT OFFICE TREE-FELLING AND LOG-SAWING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS 14 Claims. 1

This invention relates to rotary power saws adapted to be attached to and carried by a transporting vehicle, such as a tractor or the like, and movable relative to the vehicle into cutting engagement with work in the field, such as trees or their branches, heavy underbrush, timber or logs on the ground.

A vehicle carried rotary power saw of the above type is disclosed in my prior application Serial No. 792,356, filed December 18, 1947, issued July 17, 1951, as Patent No. 2,560,641; and an object of the present invention is to improve upon said prior construction, particularly in improving the frame and carriage construction to provide a more sturdy and rigid frame and saw carriage. Other objects of the invention are to improve the manner of supporting the carriage shiftably on the frame to provide a stronger and steadier support of the carriage, to improve the manner of connecting the saw attachment to the lift arms of the tractor, to provide attachment means which make it possible for the saw assembly to'be attached to the lift arms in different angular relations thereto, and to provide other improvements, some of which will be obvious and others pointed out hereinafter.

At the same time the objects of my said prior application are also embodied in this present invention. These objects include the provision of a power saw attachment adapted to be mounted on a tractor and which has great flexibility of use and is reliable, trouble free and very easily operated; is comparatively simple and inexpensive to fabricate; and holds the saw within the view of the operator when seated in the drivers seat of the tractor. According to my invention, the saw may be raised and lowered at will, at any elevation may be made horizontal, inclined or vertical and can be changed from one angle to another simply and easily. In all positions the saw can be moved laterally and horizontally, all controlled by the operator without leaving the seat of the tractor.

In order that a clearer understanding of this invention may be had, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application and illustrating certain possible embodiments of this invention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the saw attachment, with certain associated parts of the carrying vehicle-being indicated by dot and dash lines;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same, certain parts being broken away to show the construction more clearly;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of the saw in vertical position and adjacent parts, and indicating in dotted lines, the horizontal position of the saw; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a detail of the construction, and is taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawlngs.

Referring to the drawings, the rotary saw blade 8 is carried on the rear end of a carriage or beam, generally indicated by the reference letter C, which in turn is mounted for pivotal lateral adjustment on a frame, generally indicated by the reference letter F, this frame being adapted to be connected rigidly to the lift bars L (dot and dash lines) of the tractor so as to raise and lower with the lift bars, the end of the assembly which is toward the tractor being considered the front end.

The frame F consists of an open framework having a pair of laterally spaced upright side trusses of identical shape. Referring to Fig. 2, each side truss comprises an upper, generally horizontal, tubular member l0 having its forward portion Ifla bent diagonally downward; and a lower, generally horizontal, tubular member l2 having its rear portion 12a bent diagonally upward. The rearmost extremities of these two members are secured together by welding, and their forward extremities are welded to an upright angle iron M at vertically spaced points thereon. An upright tubular strut or brace I6 is located intermediate the forward and rear ends of the frame with its extremities welded to the upper and lower members l0, [2 adjacent the bends therein.

The two side trusses are held in rigid laterally spaced relation by means of a pair of horizontal cross pieces l8 and Z0. Conveniently, each of these is a section of angle iron of suitable length welded at its ends to the respective side trusses. Cross piece I8 is located at the rearmost extremity of the trusses where the diagonal portion l2a of the lower member joins the upper member Ill; cross piece 20 is located forwardly of this, near the bend in the upper member I0, and, as seen in Fig. 4, the depending flange on the forward cross piece extends downwardly on a line with the braces Hi, to which its ends are secured by the welds. The flanges making up the upper surfaces of the two cross pieces lie in the same plane, this plane being slightly below the plane of the upper edges of members It].

The carriage C, which, as stated, is mounted for lateral swinging movement on the frame F and which carries the saw 8, may comprise, as shown, a pair of tubular, laterally spaced, parallel arms 22, the forward portions of which are generally horizontal and parallel with the upper members ID of the frame F; toward their rear ends arms 22 curve downwardly as at 22a, and a diagonal brace or strut '23 bridges the bend in each arm. The front ends of the two arms are secured, as by welding or the like, to an angle iron member 24, the lower face of which comprises a turn plate resting on and swiveled to the cross piece 25 of the frame F by means of a pivot bolt 26 which extends through registering holes in the two members, these holes being located mid way between the ends of the angle irons 20 and 24, respectively.

Fastened to the under sides of the arms 22 by welding is a slide plate or bearing plate 28 which rests on the rear cross piece it of the frame F, the latter forming a rail on which the bearing plate is adapted to slide laterally from side to side of the frame. Two threaded studs 30 extend downwardly from diagonally opposite corners of plate 23, one of these being located forwardly of the cross rail 18 and the other rearwardly, as shown; together they support under neath the rail It a diagonal bar 32 by means of nuts 34 screwed on the studs 35 above and below the bar 32. The function of the bar is to prevent lifting of the carriage C and the saw carried thereby in the event there is an upward thrust on the saw during a sawing operation.

The saw head, the manner of its attachment to the rear end of the carriage C and of its connection to the power take-off shaft S of the tractor is generally similar to that shown in my prior patent application, Serial No. 792,356. As shown, a mounting plate 35 is welded to the downwardly extending portions 22a of the carriage arms, and has two rearwardly projecting bolt studs 35, which are preferably diametrically opposite each other. The front end of a gear housing 38 has secured thereto, a plate 68 which fits flat against the mounting plate 35 and has two diametrically opposite arcuate slots 32 through which the respective bolt studs 36 extend, so that by loosening the stud nuts 44 the gear housing may be turned in the plane of the plates 35 and to any rotational position relatively to the mounting plate 35 within the range permitted by the slots 42, and then looked in said adjusted position on the mounting plate 35 by tightening nuts 34.

Extending through and journaled centrally in the plates 35 and 45 is a shaft 35. The rear end of shaft 45 has a bevelled gear 46 splined thereto, this gear at meshing with a pinion 47 on a downwardly extending shaft 48 thereby to drive the disk saw is affixed to the latter shaft 48 by means of conventional clamping disks or hubs 49. The front end of shaft 45 is connected by a universal joint 50 to a forwardly extending shaft 5|, the forward end of which is provided with splines 52 and enter the internally splined socket at the rear end of the power take off shaft S; the front end of shaft S is connected through a universal joint U to the power take off P of the tractor power plant.

The front of the frame F is rigidly locked to the lift arms L of the tractor, but is angularly adjustable on these arms whereby the elevation of the saw can be adjusted. To provide such a mounting of the frame on the lift arms, the latter straddle the forward portion of the frame, and

each is provided at its rear end with a hole adapted to receive a trunnion pin or stub 55 welded to the frame and extending laterally therefrom adjacent the lower end of one of the struts it. A cotter key 55 passing through each trunnion pin holds the lift arm in place thereon and, when thus mounted, it will be seen that the frame F is free to rock up and down about the axis of pins 55. From the latter pins, the lift arm L extend forwardly adjacent the outer faces of the upright angle irons i4, and each of these has a pair of welded-on bolt studs 51, 58 extending laterally at points above and below the arm, respectively, in order to limit the extent of the aforesaid rocking movement. A clamping plate 60 apertured at its ends to receive the bolt studs overlies each lift arm, and nuts 52 are provided on the studs to tighten the plate down against the adjacent lift arm and thus lock the frame securely in any adjusted position relative to the lift arms.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the frame F is turned counterclockwise about pins 55 substantially as far as is permitted by stud 58, so the saw 8 is in its lowermost position relative to the lift arms; however, it will be seen that by loosening nuts 52, the frame may be turned clockwise about pins 55 through an angle of as much as approximately 20*", and reclamped in that position or any position intermediate the two limits, the saw blade 8 thus being raised without any change in the position of the lift arms. In whatever position it is clamped or locked, the frame in effect becomes rigid with the lift arms, to swing up and down with the latter as they are raised or lowered by the tractor mechanism, and accordingly, the elevation of the saw 8 above the ground may be further varied.

Means are provided whereby the operator of the tractor may swing the carriage C laterally on the frame F, while occupying the drivers seat on the tractor. Such means may comprise an operating lever which extends to within easy reach of the drivers seat and at its rear end has a lateral stud or projection 65 which is removably received in the end of a tube 61; the other end of the tube 6'! is fixed, as by welding, to the side of one of the carriage arms 22. This tube 61 is slidable on the top member Ill of the frame and is held against raising therefrom by a plate 58 which is held spaced above the member It by means of bolt studs 69 and upper and lower nuts 10 on the studs. Preferably a pin, such as T2, penetrating aligned holes in the stud 66 and tube 6'! prevents the operating lever 65 from becoming disengaged from the tube 61 in-- advertently.

From the above it will be noted that the elevation of the saw relatively to the lift arms of the tractor is adjustable and that in all such adjustments the saw carrying assembly is fastened very rigidly on the lift arms of the tractor; and with only simple and easily manipulatable parts being used. Further, the saw is easily adjustable to vertical or to horizontal positions and to intermediate angular positions on the assembly.

The weight of the rear end of the saw carriage is carried by the cross rail "3 of the frame, on which the saw carriage is laterally shiftable by means of the shift lever 65 which is in convenient reach of the drivers seat of the tractor; the diagonal bar 32 prevents the saw carriage and saw from being lifted from the frame F, which displacement of the saw might cause injury thereto.-

All of the above features result in the increased flexibility ofithe-saw assembly to operate effici'ent- 1y. on work under various different conditions, such as standing trees, branches at different heights on standing trees, felled trees and their branches, undergrowth and accommodation to differences in ground levels.

Whether the saw' is employed horizontally or vertically, it always is within the sight of the operator as he sits at the controls of the tractor and all operations both of the tractor and of the saw can be controlled without leaving the seat.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinbefore set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the apparatus.

It is to be understood that inasmuch as many possible embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, all matters contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings are in" terpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: v 1. In a saw attachment for a tractor of the type having laterally spaced rearwardly extending lift arms and a power take-off positioned between said arms, a rigid frame having laterally spaced upright sides with forward and rear cross rails connected to the tops of the respective frame sides and spanning the space therebetween, attachment means for securing the bottoms of said frame sides rigidly to the respective lift arms of the tractor whereby said frame is movable upwardly and downwardly with the lift arms, a

forward cross rail of the frame and said slide plate slidably supported on said rear cross rail of the frame, said carriage extending rearwardly of the frame and having a downturned rear portion, a rotary saw rotatably mounted on said carriage at the lower extremity of said downturned portion, a drive connection between the power take-off of the tractor and the saw, said drive connection extending rearwardly from the power take-off between the sides of said frame and below said cross rails, and an operating i member accessible from the drivers seat of the tractor and connected 1 0. said carriage whereby said carriage and the saw thereon may be swung laterally relative to the frame.

2. A tractor as set forth in claim 1, and in :3.

which said slide plate of the carriage has secured thereto for movement therewith a holddown member disposed beneath the rear cross rail of the frame preventing the carriage from. being raised upwardly of said rear cross rail of the frame.

3. A tractor as set forth in claim 1, and in which a hold-down member positioned beneath the rear cross rail of the frame is carryingly attached to the slide plate of the carriage in front of and to the rear of said rear cross rail, whereby said hold down member prevents raising of the carriage upwardly of said rear cross rail of the frame.

4. A tractor as set forth in claim 1 and in which said slide plate has threaded studs extending downwardly respectively in front of and to the rear of the rear cross rail of the frame and a hold-down plate positioned beneath said rear cross rail and carryingly fastened to said studs, whereby raising of the carriage upwardly of the rear cross rail of the frame is prevented.

5. In a saw attachment for a tractor of the type having laterally spaced, rearwardly extending lift arms and a power take-off positioned between said arms, a rigid frame having forward and rear horizontal rails with laterally spaced side trusses joining the corresponding ends of the respective rails and extending downwardly therefrom, attachment means for rigidly securing the lower portions of said side trusses to the respective lift arms of the tractor whereby said forward and rear walls are fixedly elevated relative to the lift arms and form with said trusses an arch spanning the space between the lift arms, a laterally swingable beam pivoted at its forward end to said forward rail and extending rearwardly across the rear rail, a holding coupling between the beam and rear rail where they cross for holding the beam to the rear rail while permitting the beam to travel along the rear rail as the free end of the beam swings about said pivot, the free end of the beam having an integral downward extension carrying a rotary saw at its lower end, a drive connection between the power take-off of the tractor and said saw extending under said arch, and a lever connected to the beam having one end extending forward of the frame for controlling the swinging of said beam from side to side.

6. A saw attachment as in claim 5 wherein one of said side trusses has a longitudinal rail and said beam has an integral arm rigid therewith extending laterally from the beam across the longitudinal rail, and a holding coupling between said arm and said longitudinal rail where they cross for holding the arm to the rail while per.- mitting the arm to travel along the rail as the free end of the beam swings about said pivot.

7. A saw attachment as in claim 5 wherein one of said side trusses has a longitudinal rail and said beam has an integral arm rigid therewith extending laterally from the beam across the longitudinal rail, a holding coupling between said arm and said longitudinal rail where they cross for holding the arm to the rail while permitting the arm to travel along the rail as the free end of the beam swings about said pivot, and means detachably connecting the rear end of said lever to said arm.

8. A saw attachment as in claim 5 wherein one of said side trusses has a longitudinal rail and said beam has an integral arm rigid therewith extending laterally from the beam across the longitudinal rail, a holding coupling between said arm and said longitudinal rail where they cross for holding said arm to the rail while permitting the arm to travel along the longitudinal-rail as the free end of the beam swings about said pivot, said arm having a socket extending axially inward from its end and said lever having at its rear a portion adapted to be received in said socket, said arm having a cross bore intersecting said socket, said portion of the lever having a cross bore adapted to register with said first cross bore when said portion is in said socket, and a pin insertable into the registering cross bores for retaining said portion of said lever in said socket.

9. A saw attachment as in claim 5 wherein said beam comprises a pair of laterally spaced parallel arms extending over said rear rail and slidably supported thereby; said holding coupling comprising a first stud projecting downwardly from one of said arms forwardly of the rail, a second stud projecting downwardly from the other arm 7 rearwardly of the rail, and a diagonal member below the rail having its ends connected to the respective studs.

10. Apparatus as in claim wherein said attachment means comprises horizontally aligned trunnions extending laterally from the respective side trusses and adapted to be received in registering holes in said lift arms whereby the frame is tiltable about the axis of said trunnions, each truss including an upstanding leg disposed beside one of the lift arms at a point remote from the trunnion on that truss whereby said leg moves longitudinally in a path crosswise of the lift arm upon tilting of the frame about said axis, and clamping means to clamp each leg to the adjacent lift arm in any position of the leg relative thereto.

11. Apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said attachment means comprises horizontally aligned trunnions extending laterally from the respective side trusses and adapted to be received in registering holes in said lift arms whereby said frame is tiltable about the axis of said trunnions, each truss including an upstanding leg disposed beside one of the lift arms at a point remote from the trunnion on that truss whereby said leg moves longitudinally in a path crosswise of the lift arm upon tilting of the frame about said axis, at least one of said legs having upper and lower studs projecting laterally from the leg above and below the lift arm to limit the lonigtudinal movement of the leg relative thereto, an upstanding clamping bar carried on the upper and lower studs and disposed on the opposite side of the lift arm from the leg carrying said studs, and means including said studs for drawing each bar toward its associated leg to clamp one of the lift arms therebetween when said frame has been adjustably tilted about said axis to a desired angular position relative to the lift arms.

12. In a saw attachment for a tractor of the type having a pair of laterally spaced rearwardly extending lift arms, a frame with a movable saw carriage supported thereon, horizontally aligned trunnions on the frame positioned rearwardly of the front end of the frame and adapted to be received in holes at the rear ends of the respective lift arms, thereby to support the frame on the arms for adjustable tilting movement about a horizontal axis, the front of the frame having a pair of upstanding legs rigid with the frame and disposed adjacent the sides of the lift arms forwardly of the trunnions, an upstanding clamping bar carried by each leg and disposed on the opposite side of the lift arm adjacent that leg, and means for drawing each bar toward its associated leg to clamp one of said lift arms therebetween when said frame has been adjustably tilted about said axis to a desired angular position relative to the lift arms.

13'. In a saw attachment for a tractor of the type having a pair of laterally spaced rearward 1y extending lift arms, a frame with a movable saw carriage supported thereon, horizontally aligned trunnions on the frame positioned rearwardly of the front end of the frame and adapted to be received in holes at the rear ends of the respective lift arms, thereby to support the frame on said arms for adjustable tilting movement about a horizontal axis, the front of the frame having a pair of upstanding legs rigid with the frame and disposed adjacent the sides of the lift arms forwardly of the trunnions, studs projecting laterally from the upper and lower ends of each leg above and below the adjacent lift arm to limit the tilting of the frame in each direction, an upstanding clamping bar carried on the upper and lower studs and disposed on the opposite side of the lift arm from the leg carrying said studs, and means including said studs for drawing each bar toward its associated leg to clamp one of the lift arms therebetween when said frame has been adjustably tilted about said axis to a desired angular position relative to the lift arms. 1

14. In a saw attachment for a tractor of the type having a pair of laterally spaced rearwardly extending lift arms, a frame with a movable saw carriage supported thereon, horizontally aligned trunnions on the frame adapted to be received in holes in the respective lift arms thereby to support the frame on the arms for limited adjustable rocking movement about a horizontal axis, said frame having for each lift arm a vertically elongated member rigid with the frame and disposed adjacent one side of such lift arm at a point spaced from said axis, a vertically elongated clamping bar adjacent the other side of each lift arm opposite one of said members, and means at the upper and lower ends of each bar for drawing same toward its associated member thereby to clamp the lift arm between the two when said frame has been adjustably rocked about its axis to a desired angular position relative to the lift arms.

GILBERT A. GOODLET.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,455,840 Webb Dec. '7, 1948 2,560,641 Goodlet July 17, 1951 2,577,448 Carr Dec. 4, 1951 2,580,721 Beccard Jan. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 101,436 Australia June 24, 1937 

